County Hosts Potpourri Of Sports Events On Weekend

A sailing buff, a skiing fanatic and a person who just likes to get his kicks in martial arts will have to go no farther than Lake County this weekend for his entertainment.

The county will be alive with activity.

About 20 sailboats are expected to compete on Lake Dora this weekend in the Lightning class' annual state championships.

The regatta, which has been held in Biscayne Bay in South Florida in recent years, was moved to Lake Dora this year. The reason for the change in sites is Fisk Hayden of Eustis, last year's state champion. As the defending state champ, he received the right to host the regatta. Hayden's victory last year broke a string of victories by Miami area sailors.

In addition to the state championship, the regatta is also a qualifying event for the North American Championships. The winner automatically receives a berth in the continental title chase.

The regatta begins on noon Saturday with three races scheduled throughout the afternoon. Two more races are scheduled for Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m.

''It certainly isn't going to be the size of the Mount Dora Regatta but for sailors in the lightning class, this is the biggest regatta of the year,'' Hayden said. ''It should be pretty exciting.''

If you like water sports but sailing isn't your specialty, maybe the novice slalom water skiing tournament on Lake David in Groveland is the place you ought to be Saturday.

The tournament, which is being sponsored by the Benzel's Ski Center, is open to any skier who has never reached 34 miles per hour in a slalom tournament before and begins at 1 p.m.

There is a $7 entry fee for anyone who wants to compete but spectators are free.

If skiing or sailing isn't how you get your kicks, maybe a karate workshop at John K. Pickard's School of Karate in Sorrento is where you should go.

The school is hosting a martial arts workshop, beginning Saturday at 1 p.m. Instructors will be on hand to teach the proper techniques to students. There is a $5 enrollment charge for the afternoon workshop.

And if that isn't enough, maybe catching a high school sport during the last weekend of the regular season in baseball, softball and track is what you're looking for.

There is one baseball game this afternoon with Eustis at Bushnell South Sumter at 4 and four night games at 7:30 that include: Ocala Forest at Leesburg, Groveland at Tavares, Mount Dora at Clermont and Wildwood at Lecanto.

Five softball games are also set for this afternoon with Clermont at Umatilla (4 p.m), Leesburg at Tavares (3:30), Mount Dora at Mount Dora Bible (3:45), Candler Lake Weir at Eustis (4:15) and South Sumter at Wildwood (4:30).

Several of the boys and girls track teams in the county will be tuning up for next week's district track meet Saturday at noon at the Clermont Rotary Invitational.

Apopka travels to Leesburg for a baseball game Saturday night at 7:30 and Mount Dora's boys and girls track team is at a meet in Ocala beginning at 9 a.m.